Coping With Conquest
by PauloFernande
Summary: Several years after the conquest ending, guilt continues to plague Nepgear. She's worked nonstop since defeating the Deity of Sin and attempts to take a vacation. She finds that Gamindustri may not be safe just yet. Warning: There's blood.
1. Forced Vacation

A world where you live surrounded by companions is an ideal world. A world where you laugh together and have fun every day could be described as bliss. Right now, Neptune, Noire, Blanc, Vert, Uni, Rom, Ram, and Nepgear are all enjoying themselves with a game in the Planeptune Basilicom. The game's victory music resounded from the T.V. as the round had concluded.

"Neptune you're just too good at this." Nepgear sighed as she lost another round.

"Ahaha! No one can beat me, I've been doing nothing but playing _Mega Street Buster 2_ all week!" Neptune cheered.

Noire remarked from her chair in the corner of the room, "Shouldn't you have been working?"

"Boo, you sound like Histy." Neptune responded.

"Hey, Rom and I want to play against Neptune!" Ram shouted as she grabbed Rom's hand as pulled her forward. Rom nodded in agreement.

"Hey, Neptune hasn't stopped playing since we got here! Play against my sister and me!" Uni shouted as she pulled Noire out of her chair and pushed her forward.

"H-Huh? I mean, I was fine watching, I didn't really want to play or anything." Noire responded in a soft tone.

"Huh? Didn't you say you couldn't wait to play against everyone on the way here?" Uni said, confused.

"Uni! Not out loud!" Noire responded, her face starting to redden. "I-I mean, maybe I want to play a little bit…" Noire continued, meekly.

Vert stood up and puffed out her chest. "Well, if Noire is busy with her tsundere act, perhaps I shall take the stage!" She started to proudly stride across the room.

"U-um, will Ram and I get to play?" Rom said softly, to which Blanc responded, "Of course you will." Blanc then directed her voice towards the other Goddesses, "Hey you friggin' assholes! My sisters and I are gonna play next!"

Neptune then boasted again, "Ha ha! Can anyone defeat the champ?"

Her boast was met with a unanimous, "No! It's our turn!"

Nepgear watched this scene unfold and thought to herself how nice the average everyday scene is. Truly, she lived in an ideal world. As this feeling came over Nepgear, she woke from her dream of the past.

A world laughing with friends is ideal, and Nepgear lived in such a world long ago. To defeat the Deity of Sin and save Gamindustri, Nepgear had to slay her friends with her own hands using Gehaburn, the sword which grew in power for each goddess soul it consumed. They would never smile again, and there was no going back to good times. Their last moments together were painful, facing each other in a kill or be killed situation, with only one remaining. Their dying words echoed in the back of Nepgear's mind. Nepgear pushed these dark thoughts to the back of her mind and sprang out of bed to start her day.

Making her way towards the main chamber, Nepgear passed Kei. They acknowledged each other's presence and continued forward. Even though no one doubted Kei's capability as the mediator between Nepgear and the people, she rarely spoke with Nepgear herself. Kei worked closely with Noire and Uni, who Nepgear killed to defeat the Deity of Sin. Kei worked with Nepgear only because, according to Kei, this was the most logical course of action after the death of her previous employer. Personal feelings had no room in the world of business, but Kei still chose to avoid Nepgear when she could.

Nepgear arrived in the main chamber greeted by Histoire. "Nepgear, I really must commend your work ethic these past few years. I did not think you could annex all four main continents in such a short span of time."

"I had to keep up with the work ethic of Noire now that she's no longer with us. If I don't show the people I'm a capable leader, Gamindustri will perish."

"Yes, yes, doomsday prophecies aside, don't you think it's time for a vacation?"

"A…vacation? Histoire, are you feeling all right? I never thought you'd suggest anything other than more work."

"Well, that is because Neptune would never work, and she would make you slack off with her!"

"Yeah…yeah she did." Nepgear said with a somber expression.

Histoire sighed. "Nepgear, it is because you work so hard that you need a vacation. Everyone needs a break eventually."

Nepgear protested, "I'm fine. I have a whole world to run, so there's no time for fun."

"It saddens me to hear that, because I have already arranged a stay for you at Rebeat Resort."

"Already arranged? Histoire, I really don't think- "

"Nepgear! Have you looked in the mirror recently? Your eyes are bloodshot, your movements are sluggish, and to be honest, your handwriting lacks the neatness it once had. You have not taken a break in years and your body cannot handle the strain."

Nepgear could not protest the facts. She suffered from insomnia and could only sleep about 3 hours a night. When attempting to rest, she could only fantasize about how she would wake up with her sister next to her and realize all this was just a bad dream. The fantasy of returning to her ideal world kept her up for hours.

"Nepgear! You are spacing out again! Nepgear!" Histoire shouted.

"Oh!" Nepgear said as she was brought back to reality. "Okay Histoire, I'll take a short vacation, but be sure to call if you need anything at all."

"Of course. Now hurry and pack!" Histoire urged Nepgear towards her room.

Back in her room, Nepgear had neatly packed her belonging and observed the current state of her room. No traces of any mess were left in her room, same as always. Neptune would always create messes that Nepgear would later clean, but that never happens anymore. Nepgear's mech tools were starting to collect dust as well. She rarely had time for her hobbies anymore. Gehaburn silently rested against the wall. Nepgear had considered bringing the sword with her, but there was no need for such a powerful weapon on vacation. She had a normal Plasma Saber in case of any emergencies, such as a monster attack.

"All right. I'm off." She said to no one in particular.

Towards the heart of Lastation lie Rebeat Resort. A resort, as the name suggests, marketed itself towards the working class as a getaway location for holidays, such as the vacation Nepgear was currently taking. During the war against ASIC, Nepgear visited this resort in search of the Mascot. She felt a tinge of Nostalgia as she walked the resort's mechanical pathways that spread across the lake's shores. Nepgear stopped in one spot she remembered fondly. The pathway opened to a disc shaped platform that allowed for sunbathing and a diving spot into the lake. Nepgear had fought Uni on this platform after their true identities were revealed to each other. A while after the battle, the two of them had put aside their differences and joined forces to save their sisters.

"Uni…" Nepgear murmured as she remembered her friend. During their battles together the two had become close friends. Perhaps they could have become more than that if not for the sadistic requirements of the Soul-Stealing Sword. Nepgear felt tears start to well up as she remembered her adventure with Uni as she could almost swear she heard a voice.

" _Get it together Nepgear!_ "

Nepgear looked around her surroundings for where that voice could have come from. It sounded just like Uni. She was always the one to set Nepgear on the correct course when Nepgear was feeling self-doubt. But Uni was gone now. Nepgear had only herself to rely on now.

"Wow it's really her! The One Who Stayed!" a little boy said as he pointed straight at Nepgear. She quickly wiped her tears and put on a brave face to approach the boy.

With the other goddesses of the realm gone, Nepgear had received a nickname for being the only goddess remaining in Gamindustri. Of course, the general public did not know the truth of what happened. Common belief held that the other goddesses had ascended to Celestia, with only the Purple Sister remaining for the good of the world. Kei worked hard to plant this seed into the minds of the public. Failure would have most likely resulted in a much more negative opinion of Nepgear.

Not everyone believed this rumor, however. Even if most people in each major city follow the Purple Sister, there are some dissenters, and of those dissenters, some use violence to express their views.

As Nepgear approached the young boy, a woman who appeared to be his mother had grabbed his head and bent it forwards so that he would be in a bowing position.

"Hey, show respect in front of our lady! Lady Purple Sister, I deeply apologize for the boy's insolence!" the woman shouted as she apologized profusely.

"Oh, no, it's fine." Nepgear said, unsure of why this woman was being so formal.

"Your kindness is truly a marvel to behold my lady." The woman responded with relief.

Now that Nepgear looked at the people around her, they all seemed to be avoiding any sort of eye contact with her. They were all lowering themselves in her presence as if she were a queen. This struck her as odd, as she had always known goddesses to be like idols in the sense that they were approachable but still respected. These people seemed to treat Nepgear with the amount of respect that would suggest they fear her, but unless they knew the truth of how the war ended why would they be afraid?

"Goodness, look at the time!" Nepgear realized that her presence created a scene and promptly made her way towards Lastation proper to find her hotel.

Entering her hotel room, she noticed it was quite spacious. Did Histoire really arrange for a room this large or did the hotel staff insist of giving their goddess the biggest room they own? The room contained a king-size bed, a mini cooler, a couch with tables, and a rather large bathtub. Feeling exhaustion from the journey, Nepgear plopped face first onto the bed and sank into the bed a little bit. She began to drift off to sleep, but before she could reach dreamland, Nepgear heard a knock on her door. Annoyed and drowsy, Nepgear moved off the bed and opened the door.

"Yes, who is- " Nepgear could not finish her sentence as she was promptly punched in the gut. She felt bile start to rise in her mouth as she fell to her knees. She looked up and saw three heavily armored military men at her door, all armed with submachine guns.

"Hey that was supposed to knock her out!" one of the men whispered in a stern tone to the man that had punched Nepgear.

"I thought it would." He responded. "I didn't think she'd be so tough."

"Well, let's just hit her again!" The third man said as he raised his gun, the stock poised to strike Nepgear in the face.

" _This is bad._ "Nepgear thought to herself. " _My sword isn't in reach, I'm outnumbered, and my stomach is really hurting right now. The sooner I act, the better._ "

The stock started to move towards Nepgear, and with lightning-quick timing, Nepgear sprung upwards from her crouched position and twisted her body to reach her arm behind her head to catch the gun by its handle and pulled the trigger, firing into the man's face. Blood sprayed from his wound onto the doorway, the walls, and Nepgear's cheek.

"Shit, she doesn't hesitate. Open fire!" the first man who had punched her shouted.

Nepgear used this chance to jump back into the room and move behind a wall towards her equipment to pull out her Plasma Saber. Adrenaline kept the pain in her stomach at bay for the time being. She crept up to the corner of the wall and waited for her chance. As soon as the man who punched her entered her range, she leaped out from the corner and thrust the saber into the man's throat. The man remaining near the door opened fire and Nepgear used the now dead man's body as a shield while she inched closer to the final threat. Once within range she discarded the body to the side and charged towards the final soldier-looking man. The man dropped his weapon and fell to his feet.

"M-Monster! You're a monster!" he said, paralyzed by fear.

Nepgear, now coated in blood on her entire frontside, approached the man and rested her sword above the man's throat. Eerily calm, Nepgear asked the man, "Who are you and why did you come here?" The frozen soldier looked into her eyes and saw no intent to show mercy. This girl, drenched in the blood of his comrades, cold eyes lacking compassion, and poised to kill the man with no hesitation was the most terrifying sight this man had ever seen. He rolled over and cowered in the fetal position.

"P-P-Please don't kill me!" He said.

"…this is pointless." Nepgear stated matter-of-factly and stabbed the cowering man through the heart.

Now that the immediate threat was gone, Nepgear searched the bodies to see if she could find out who these people are and why they attacked her. She uncovered a note on one of them giving directions to this hotel room and instructions to take her sword. Nepgear started theorizing to herself.

" _My sword? My Plasma Saber is one of a kind seeing as I made it myself and no other technology like it exists in the world as far as I know. But that's probably not what they're after. I'd bet they thought I'd bring Gehaburn with me. It's an incredibly powerful sword, enough to fell the Deity of Sin in one strike, but only a few people know about it's true power. Do these people know the secret, or did they just assume I have a powerful arsenal?_ "

Upon further inspection, these soldiers have an emblem on the uniform. Nepgear was not overly fond of the name these people had chosen for themselves, as it strongly implied they were rebelling against her.

 **Gamindustri Liberation Army**

The hotel is no longer safe, and Nepgear decided to cut her vacation short and make plans to return to Planeptune. A new threat to the peace of Gamindustri seemed to approach.


	2. Escape from Lastation

Nepgear turned on the shower in the hotel bath in order to wash the blood off her body. She dropped her bloody clothes on the floor and stepped into the shower, flinching at the heat of the water. She readjusted the temperature and submerged herself in the stream. As the water mixed with the blood and trickled down her body into the drain, Nepgear began to review her current situation.

Outside the bathroom door lay three corpses of an unknown group seeking to rebel against Nepgear's rule. The three attempted to surprise and incapacitate her but underestimated a goddess' durability and suffered immediate execution for the crime of treason. She then began to consider the three dead on the floor may not be the only members of the raid party currently in the hotel. There could be more soldiers posted by the exits, or they could even have hostages in the lobby. Exiting the hotel would become much more difficult if that were true.

Nepgear thought of an idea and reached out of the shower towards her bloody clothes, tossing them around to find her pockets. Though here on vacation, she had not come completely unprepared. In her pockets, small machines she called Bits sat in standby mode. These machines were handmade by Nepgear, which she often worked on when having trouble falling asleep. She pulled two Bits out of her pockets which expanded upon activation, much like the capture balls in _Pocketed Monstrosities_. These were Sentry Bits, not equipped with any weapons but relayed information from a camera to Nepgear's personal handheld, the N-Gear. She sent the Bits to scout the hotel, and they made a soft whirring noise as they left the bathroom.

Nepgear exited the shower and clothed herself in fresh clothing from her luggage. She did not take the time to dry her hair and felt wet cloth on her back pressing against her skin. She sat on the bed and pulled out the N-Gear to check the camera feed from the Sentry Bits. The feed showed one Bit presently in the 3rd floor hallway relaying feed of soldiers posted at both the elevator and the stairway. The other Bit resided in the lobby, which did not seem to be affected by the current situation.

Relieved at the absence of any apparent hostage situation, Nepgear rewound the camera feed to investigate the 2nd floor and the 4th floor, on which she currently resided. The 2nd floor's situation resembles the 3rd floor, guards at both the elevator and the stairway. However, the 4th floor showed a different situation. She saw feed of soldiers fiddling with the door to her room, taking place shortly after the release of the Bits. Her best guess suggested they planted explosives or some other manner of trap. Using the N-Gear, she issued commands to the Bits to remain stationary at the 3rd floor and the lobby. Ideally, she'd want the 3rd floor Bit to move to the 2nd floor, but having the Bit move too fast posed a risk of having the soldiers find the Bit, which could lead them to realize Nepgear had eyes across the hotel.

Sliding the window open, a gust of wind smacked Nepgear. It seemed the wind ran strong in Lastation today. Nepgear fashioned the curtains into a makeshift rope and tied the curtains to the radiator. She tossed the curtain out the window and rappelled down the wall of the hotel, hoping that no one below was currently looking up, as her one-piece sailor suit did not include pants. The wind picked up and carried her off center to what she noticed must be an air vent, which luckily enough could fit a person. Once close enough, Nepgear pulled out her Plasma Saber to try and pry the grate off the vent, but like a pendulum, she started swaying in the other direction.

"Wahhh! My Plasma Saber!" Nepgear cried as gravity pulled her away from the vent, Plasma Saber still wedged in the grate. Following the pendulum motion, Nepgear swayed back and forth to buy enough time to wedge the grate off the vent. She _really_ hoped no one was watching this embarrassing situation unfold. Her imagination ran wild to media coverage of Gamindustri's sovereign flailing about a hotel wall on a curtain. Even Kei wouldn't be able to salvage such a ludicrous situation.

After several minutes of imagined embarrassment while rocking back and forth on the curtain, Nepgear had finally retrieved her Plasma Saber and removed the grate. She hopped into the vent and started to sneak through. While crawling, she constantly checked behind her even though no one was there, as she felt self-conscious about someone seeing her horizontal stripes.

After several minutes she was able to put her mind back to the task at hand and she crawled through the vent until she found an opening somewhere around the middle of the 3rd floor hallway. Peering through the grate on the vent, she saw two soldiers in the hallway, two by the elevator and two by the stairs. Nepgear decided she must move to either location without being seen, but the first issue lies with removing the grate in front of her.

Much like the outside grate, this grate affixed itself to the vent with bolts. Nepgear did not have the freedom of movement required to position her Plasma Saber to the grate to pry it off like last time, so she had to settle for brute force. She rotated her body to position herself feet first out of the grate by curling up into a ball in order to put her feet where her head was.

 ***BAM***

The grate resounded loudly upon the impact of her kick.

"What was that noise?" One of the soldiers asked, looking around rather confused.

 ***BAM***

Another hit.

"Sounds like it's coming out of the wall!" Another soldier said, pointing towards the wall below the grate.

 ***BAM* *CLANG***

The grate flew off the wall towards the soldiers, causing them to duck reflexively. Nepgear took this opportunity to leap out of the vent and dash towards the stairs. No point in waiting for an elevator as speed was crucial.

"There she goes!" A soldier shouted.

"Shit! How did she get down here?" Another soldier questioned.

"Doesn't matter! Open fire!" A third soldier beckoned.

The soldiers started firing in Nepgear's direction, but she had already reached the door. Nepgear passed through the door and hurried down the stairs. As she descended, soldiers poured into the stairwell from above her and from below her, blocking her escape. " _This really started to resemble a scene from_ M-Gear Liquid." Nepgear thought to herself. Seeing as they were all forced to position themselves in a straight line, Nepgear found an obvious solution to the problem. She focused energy into her Plasma Saber, which started to glow in response.

" **Slash Wave!** " Nepgear shouted as she slid the tip of her sword across the ground, creating a ripple of energy that shot upwards, moving in a straight line towards her opponents. The wave of energy impaled her foes and hurled them backward, easily allowing Nepgear to run past (and occasionally on) her adversaries and into the lobby.

The lobby seemed normal, save for the citizens alarmed by the sound of gunshots they recently heard. Ever since leaving the shower, Nepgear had dealt with her foes non-lethally so she shouldn't have any blood on her, but she examined her clothes just in case.

"Oh, I'm dusty." Nepgear quietly remarked to herself upon noticing that crawling through the vents had caused her to get somewhat dirty. Normally, people recognize her like they did on the beach earlier today, but they seemed caught up in their confusion about the commotion upstairs and did not notice Nepgear. She took this opportunity to inconspicuously walk out the front door onto the streets of Lastation. The hotel is located close to the beach, which put it far away from the factories that made up most of Lastation. This resulted in less places to hide in the current area, such as alleyways or public access rooftops. Nepgear still kept caution about her, as the Gamindustri Liberation Army, or so they call themselves, did not appear to be above attacking her in broad daylight, but at least there were few places for multiple soldiers to conceal themselves.

"The first step is to return to Planeptune! Then I can retrieve my equipment and strategize with Histoire!" Nepgear said to herself as she started walking toward Westwind Ravine. The ravine offered the most direct path through the mountain dividing Lastation from Planeptune. Besides traversing the ravine or hardcore mountain climbing, the only other options were to pass through Lowee or Lastation which would take much longer.

While walking the path, Nepgear noticed an increase of military-grade vehicles in the area. At least, this was an increase compared to any other time Nepgear had been in the Lastation area. She did her best to remain inconspicuous as she traveled towards the mountain summit. Once far enough away from civilization, Nepgear occasionally encountered monsters which only proved to inconvenience her.

Cutting her way through any obstacles on the mountain path, Nepgear approached the mountain summit where she saw what appeared to be a border gate. As she drew near the gate, she noticed two armed men with uniforms resembling those worn by the soldiers at the hotel. Upon noticing her, the two men scrambled out of sight as if hurrying away from a threat.

 ***BOOM!***

The rock face of the mountain violently exploded. The vibration and the suddenness of the explosion sent Nepgear to fall onto her butt. The blast sent tons of rock and debris tumbling down the mountain, creating a rockslide which buried the gate along with any hope of passage. After the landslide subsided, Nepgear got to her feet and approached the rubble to investigate. The rocks seemed impossible to scale without tools, and the debris was still wet and possibly loose enough to create a second miniature landslide if aggravated. She concluded that she may have to get back to Planeptune by going through Lowee. She also looked around for those two soldiers, but they did not seem to be in the area anymore. Disappointed and annoyed, she descended the mountain path back the way she came.

Nepgear made her way down the mountain and headed to Lastation proper. During the journey Nepgear surmised that the Army's goal was to keep her in Lastation by blowing apart any border gate she tried to cross. Therefore, to get to Planeptune via Lowee, she would need a disguise.

After a surprisingly uneventful journey to the heart of Lastation, Nepgear located a clothing store to don her disguise. She perused the store, trying to draw as little attention to herself as possible while selecting clothes different than her own, but not uncomfortably different. She settled on an outfit similar to her usual attire, but this outfit flaunted a monochrome color scheme. For some reason, this outfit set included a pair of white panties with a black bow.

" _I can't help but feel the designer had some weird intentions when including these with the outfit._ " Nepgear thought to herself while examining the panties.

To complete the disguise, Nepgear changed her hair color to silver, matching the monochrome scheme and donned a black hat with cat ears. Of course, she had to buy the outfit before she could wear it. After the purchase she stepped outside still in her usual attire, holding a bag that held her new outfit.

Upon exiting the store, she noticed that the sun had long since gone down, and the city's illumination came from the streetlights and flashy neon signs. She would need to find a place to rest for the night, and although the idea of sneaking across the border in the cover of night was tempting, Nepgear felt worn out from the chaotic events of the day.

After walking down the road for a while, she arrived at an ideal location to rest. Whether random chance or muscle memory led her here, Nepgear found herself at the Lastation Basilicom. The Basilicom had seen better days, as she could see ivy growing up the base of the building and a few windows appeared to have shattered. A tree seemed to have collapsed onto the building itself, pulling a sizeable hole in the roof and the wall. She grimaced at the state of the building where she used to visit her friends but continued forward into the dilapidated Basilicom.

The door echoed a loud creak as Nepgear pushed it open and stepped inside. Upon turning on the light, Nepgear's battle instinct kicked in and she performed a dodge roll to her left, spun to the right, and saw four Ganglord Panthers had just pounced on the spot she resided only moments ago.

These Panthers were no larger than the average housecat, but they wore masks, walked on two legs, and were incredibly ferocious. One Panther rushed towards her and Nepgear pulled out her saber and swung at the cat, but it flipped over her person, landing nicely behind her. The cat scratched her calf, the pain causing her balance to shift, and she fell on her knee. The other three Panthers took this opportunity to charge towards her, so Nepgear swung again, to which the three cats performed a similar flip over her. This time Nepgear knew their strategy, so she carried the momentum of her swing behind her, pivoting on her knee, to hit all three Panthers hard enough to send them flying into the wall, causing more damage to the building.

Nepgear followed through with a stab at the last Panther, causing it to leap back. Once Nepgear had extended her arm the full length, the cat dashed towards her and managed to scratch her across her right cheek. Nepgear reflexively swung upwards at the cat only for it to jump back again, putting their positions back at square one. Charging in, Nepgear feinted a stab, but this time the cat leapt forward attempting to get another clean hit at her face. As soon as the Panther drew near, Nepgear used her off-hand to grab the cat by the mask, holding its face in her palm. She then stretched her arm above her head, still holding the Panther, and then slammed it into the ground like she was dunking a basketball. The noise of crumbling hardwood resounded across the entrance chamber, and the force of her dunk broke the floor, leaving only a crater. As if summoned by the noise, or maybe by the demise of their companion, the three Panthers Nepgear sent flying earlier started to approach once again.

She returned to an upright position and declared, "This time, I'm ready for you. **Mirage Dance!** " True to its name, Nepgear maneuvered around the Panthers as if performing a dance. Every swing she made hit its mark, as she carefully coordinated her movements to flow quickly and efficiently, only allowing the enemy to see her as a blur, or to be true to nomenclature, a mirage.

Concluding her dance, three more Panthers now lay dead at her feet, their blood dripping off the tip of her saber. Nepgear breathed a sigh of relief and the tension of battle left her body. She was almost at a point where she could rest, but not quite yet. With a slight limp, Nepgear ventured further into the Basilicom.

She did not find any more monsters further in the building, but she did manage to locate a first aid kit, where she could treat the wounds she received earlier. The wounds weren't terribly deep, but they would take time to recover. After bandaging herself up, Nepgear went back to exploring the Basilicom until she reached a door she hesitated before opening. She knew she would only feel pain from going through this door, but a part of her screamed that she must go through. Her hesitation was understandable. After all, this door led to what used to be Uni's room.

Upon entering the room, guilt assailed Nepgear. The only thing going through her head was the memory of Gehaburn piercing Uni and the light of life leaving her eyes forever. Nepgear replayed this moment in her head over and over again like a broken record.

She continued to investigate the room, whether by curiosity or as if drawn by some force, she did not know. Apart from the dust, Uni's room looked exactly how Nepgear remembered. Her room sported a multitude of guns mounted to the walls as well as generally refined-looking furniture. The room seemed almost Victorian in appearance.

Nepgear walked around the room aimlessly inspecting the decorations to try and push her dark thoughts to the back of her mind but stopped upon seeing a notebook left on Uni's desk. Nepgear picked up the notebook to find it was Uni's diary. Unable to resist looking into Uni's private thoughts, she opened the diary and skimmed through the pages. Nepgear found herself mentioned in Uni's thoughts quite often, but that was to be expected because of how close they were. In fact, from Uni's perspective they were even closer than Nepgear remembered. She eventually reached the last entry in the diary where every phrase Uni wrote twisted the knife in Nepgear's heart.

" _Date: XX/XX/XXXX_

 _Nepgear and her big sister are on their way to Lastation. Nepgear's idea to put the whole world's shares into one nation sounds crazy, but Planeptune has been eating up our shares nonstop. Now we have to take them back before they arrive. Noire said that if she sees that cursed sword anywhere near those two, she'll use it to cut Neptune down where she stands, but I think Noire is just acting tough. Even for the sake of the whole world, I couldn't kill Nepgear and I hope she feels the same way. There has to be another way to stop the Deity of Sin and I think Nepgear can find the answer. I know she can find a way for everyone to beat the Deity of Sin together. I choose to believe in Nepgear."_

"I'm sorry, Uni. I'm so sorry." Nepgear repeated hoping for some form of reconciliation that would never come. She covered her eyes to keep the tears in, only causing her hands to become quickly soaked from the downpour of tears.

"You trusted me! And I betrayed you!" Nepgear wept, constantly drying her eyes with her sleeve. "I'm sorry! I'm sorr- "

A lump formed in her throat as her apologies started to become incomprehensible. She lost strength in her body, falling to her knees as her crying quickly turned into wailing. Her face reddened, her eyelids puffed from the moisture, and she continually rubbed her nose with her palm to keep the snot from getting in her mouth. Uni really was gone forever, and the fact just didn't seem real until now.

After what seemed like an eternity of anguish, Nepgear had exhausted herself crying, and crawled into Uni's now unused bed. Maybe after being fully exhausted from a good cry, Nepgear could sleep well for once. But sleep did not come easy for Nepgear. It never does anymore.


	3. Detour through Lowee

"I won't do it for you like she did. I won't kill myself. Do it, Nepgear. Kill me. Do it with your own two hands."

Nepgear jolted awake from the bitter memory of Uni's death. The night had not yet broken, and Nepgear found herself alone in the darkness. Feeling queasy, she noticed her body was coated in cold sweat. It occurred to her that she had become dehydrated from her long cry and from sweating, so she rose from Uni's old bed in search of water.

As Nepgear staggered down the dark hallway, her head ached in a cry for hydration. She stumbled into the bathroom and turned the faucet on. As she was about to drink, she remembered reading once that when already dehydrated, the body needs warm water to rehydrate. Adjusting the temperature accordingly, she took a drink of lukewarm water. Barely any water made it into her mouth, so she kept taking swigs until she felt tired solely from the act of trying to drink. Resting her hands on each side of the sink, she happened to catch her reflection in the mirror.

A ghastly sight peered at her from inside the mirror. Nepgear did not doubt she was looking at herself, but the person in the mirror seemed older. Her hair had many strands out of place and seemed to have lost its shine, massive bags sat under her bloodshot eyes, and her skin seemed much dryer and paler. A Goddess should have eternal youth, so aging was certainly not the issue. However, there was something about this creature that reflected Nepgear's appearance which sparked something inside her.

"Stop looking at me." Nepgear muttered to the reflection.

 **CRASH!**

Shards of glass danced around the sink bowl and other shards dug into Nepgear's hand. For reasons she did not even understand herself, the sight of her own reflection made her angry enough to punch the mirror and drive glass shards into her own hand. Blood trickled from her knuckles down her hand. Destroying the mirror did not subside Nepgear's irrational anger, but she calmly picked glass shards out of her hand and bandaged it up with a nearby first-aid kit. She then sauntered back down the hallway to the bedroom Uni formerly resided in to crash onto the bed.

Nepgear awoke with the breaking dawn, feeling only slightly rested. As she motioned herself out of bed, she felt a tinge of pain in her hand. Noticing the bandage, she remembered waking in the middle of the night for water and then shattering the bathroom mirror. What had made her so angry to do something dangerous like that? Even Nepgear herself was unaware of the logic behind her actions.

Putting those thoughts aside, Nepgear donned her disguise. She examined her appearance in one of Uni's old mirrors and wondered if the outfit was excessive. Her sister would have done something silly like putting on a pair of glasses and calling that a perfect disguise. The other goddesses wouldn't have done something like that. Probably.

Disregarding the hypothetical question of how her predecessors would act, Nepgear left the old Basilicom and followed the road to the mountains on the northern side of the greater Lastation area. The GLA (Gamindustri Liberation Army) forces were not as thick here as they were at the western gate. Perhaps they had predicted Nepgear would attempt to cross the sea to Leanbox, but whatever their reason this situation worked out well.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself down, Nepgear inconspicuously walked to the gate. As casually as possible, she crossed the gate and it seemed she was clear to go.

"Excuse me, miss?" one of the guards beckoned her.

"…Yes?" Nepgear said as calmly as she could, hiding her panic.

"I like your hat. It's very cute." The guard complimented her.

"Oh. Thank you very much." Nepgear gave a monotone response before hurrying down the other side of the mountain. Once out of sight, she had to stop to take a deep breath. The guard's asinine comment nearly gave her a heart attack.

Past the bottom of the mountain, the temperature dropped, and snow collected on Nepgear's hat. She knew this marked her entry into the Land of White Serenity, Lowee. The purest white snow blanketed the city and the smell of manjuu drifted through the air. Children's laughter echoed through the streets as they hurled snowballs at each other. A normal day for this city, but the laughter sent a pang a guilt through Nepgear.

Remaining in this city for too long would not be good for her mental health, so she promptly moved through the city toward the west exit in order to reach Planeptune. Weaving her way through a crowd, Nepgear could see the end of the busy street which meant she was headed in the correct direction. Just as she was about to leave, she heard something shatter. Upon turning around to check the source of the noise, she saw the person she had least wanted to see in this city.

"Why…are _you_ here?" The voice belonged to Mina Nishizawa who had immediately seen though Nepgear's disguise. She appeared to have dropped whatever she was carrying. A vase, perhaps?

Nepgear froze in place, her flight-or-fight response activated, causing her fingers to twitch as she looked for an escape. She did not fail to catch Mina's nasty glare, but oddly enough Mina started to walk away. Nepgear was uncertain if she was meant to follow, so she simply left the scene. There was no reason to reignite Mina's hatred, and returning home remained the most pressing issue.

Crossing to Planeptune from Lowee proved arduous as the path was less traveled than the roads running through Lastation to Planeptune. Nepgear needed to make several timed jumps across moving platforms and somehow ended up going through a cave where a slow-moving wall threatened instant-death were she to merely touch it. The journey may have been easier if she were to ride the back of a dinosaur, but no such mount was available to her.

Finally, Nepgear found herself in a somewhat familiar grassy field. The journey took longer than expected, but she finally neared Planeptune. Just as she started to feel relieved, she heard the rumbling of heavy vehicles. She stopped to concentrate and noticed the noise getting louder. A line of tanks encroached on her position, and she did what anyone would do. She ran.

She moved as fast as her feet could possibly carry her, and pain shot through her injured leg. She pushed through the pain and tried to pick up speed. While running, a thought crossed her mind. How could anyone possibly get so many heavy armor weapons without her, or anyone else in the Planeptune Basilicom noticing? Regardless of the answer, she had to move away from them as fast as possible.

Sprinting across the field Nepgear's breath ran ragged, and she could feel her injured calf crying in agony. She knew had to come up with a different strategy and decided to use her last resort, her transformation. Drawing upon the power of her shares, the wishes of her believers, Nepgear's form altered to that of the Purple Sister. Now, her transformation had changed slightly in the past few years. At some point her headpiece had changed to a crown shape and she sported radiant angel wings for the back piece. No longer a sister, she had a new moniker, Amethyst Heart. She had considering taking the mantle of Purple Heart but decided against it as she didn't want anyone to forget Neptune.

Post-transformation, she reevaluated her surroundings. The horizon filled with tanks, soldiers, military vehicles, and even a few giant robots. She wished she could get a closer look at those robots, but this simply wasn't the time. Fighting a battle here seemed pointless and taking even a single shell from one of those tanks would be bad news. Fighting wasn't the purpose of transforming. Instead, Nepgear launched herself into the sky to fly directly into Planeptune proper.

Soaring at the speed of a hawk, Nepgear deftly dodged any shells launched from the ground, and once close enough, dove into Planeptune, making a rather dramatic landing in the middle of the street. Wondering what the occasion was, the citizens gathered around Amethyst Heart, impressed they could see the transformed Goddess up close.

"Wow, it's the real thing!"

"I'll tell my grandchildren about this one day!"

"Sign my game!"

The people cheered for her, but Nepgear's focus drifted towards to outskirts of the city to see if her pursuers planned on invading. After a few minutes she noticed there were no longer weapons in sight and cautiously diverted her attention back to the crowd.

The commotion had turned into an impromptu meet-and-greet session with the Goddess, and the people showered her with compliments and sang her praises. Nepgear appreciated to support she received, but somehow felt lonely. The feeling of being placed on a pedestal put her in a different world from everyone else. She felt isolation. Everyone only knew Amethyst Heart, and nobody knew Nepgear anymore.

Nepgear finally broke away from the crowd and arrived at Planeptower. She had a long journey, and though this was supposed to be vacation, she now felt more tired than ever. However, she could not let her guard down. The GLA still posed a threat, and, assuming those weapons belonged to them as well, had access to illegal firepower. Worst of all, Nepgear had no way of knowing when they would strike next.


End file.
